The Sage Before Dawn
"I've been with you for years. I didn't raise you to be some idiot who can't even untie your own shoelaces."
At that, Nina shot him a glare.
"You'd have had to raise me first."
Still, she groaned and let her shoulders slump.
"The Young Master is strong, I'll give him that. But will he be all right? Finding Bright Iron means going in deep, and there's no telling what might come leaping out of the Purple Forest. It takes forever just to get there and back."
"And yet he left you behind, didn't he?"
"Exactly! That's the point! How could he leave me?"
"You leave the Young Master on his own all the time, and you do just fine."
"That's different. The Young Master is the Young Master, and I'm me."
"Right. So His Grace went off to do what His Grace has to do."
"Aren't I sweet?"
Jin said it in a coaxing voice, and Nina laughed in spite of herself. Whenever she fought with Adrian and sat there sulking, Jin would soothe her like this—awkwardly, like an older brother caught in the middle of his little siblings' quarrel.
"What am I supposed to do? I like you too much, Jin."
"Yeah, yeah. You like me a lot. I know. That's why you whack me with a stick in training."
"That's all affection, I'll have you know."
"Of course it is. Sure, sure."
As he spoke, Jin reached for her head, then let his hand slip lower and patted her on the back. The words were light, but worry lingered in his green eyes all the same.
Nina caught the wrist that was patting her, drew it in, and rested her cheek against his arm.
"Jin."
"What?"
"I'm glad you lived."
Jin bit his lip, just barely, before he answered.
"You too."
"If you'd died, I really would have bawled. I'd have cried until my eyeballs melted."
"Thanks for that."
"I mean it."
"So do I."
Nina looked up at him, sulky, and found him smiling softly. She blinked, knowing he meant every word.
"Just don't cry hard enough to melt your eyes."
"If you say so, I suppose I can't."
She rubbed her cheek against his arm and sighed.
"It feels like only yesterday you told me to get lost, and now you're thanking me for saying I'd cry. The times really have changed. They have."
Color rose in Jin's face.
"Hey—why are you digging up other people's embarrassing pasts?"
"So you do know it was embarrassing?"
"I do. I absolutely do. I was wrong back then. Really. And how many times is this apology, anyway?"
"As many as you like. I'm going to wring it dry until the day I die."
Jin dragged a hand down his face.
When Nina had first come to him, he had been disappointed in his own life and in people altogether, so not one of the ways she tried to look after him had been welcome. She only ever grumbled that he had told her to get lost, but there had also been a time he shoved her hard enough to knock her flat. Back then she had been nothing but a skinny girl of thirteen.
No—I thought you were a boy!
That had been his final defense. If he had known she was a girl, would he have spoken so harshly, or laid hands on her so roughly? He still remembered how stunned he had been when he later learned she was a woman. He was hardly the only one; you could tell as much just by looking at people's faces once they knew the truth. And back then, Jin could not even sleep a night through without a drink.
He raked a rough hand back through his hair.
"I really am sorry about then. I wasn't in my right mind."
When he apologized again, Nina broke into a bright smile.
"I know. I know."
She let him go and climbed down off the desk. Gathering up the shoes she herself had flung across the room, she said,
"I don't think I'll sleep tonight, but I should still turn in early. We've got an important guest tomorrow."
Jin snorted.
"Important guest, my ass."
"He is important. A sage is coming from Blue Stone Island."
"He's not bringing a whole pack of attendants, is he? That's a headache on its own."
"No. The letter said he's coming alone."
"Unusual. Some kind of eccentric?"
He seemed ready to complain no matter what she said, and Nina laughed. His opinion of sages was clearly none too high.
When she turned her eyes toward the window, Jin blocked her view with his palm.
"You are not flying off in the middle of the night."
Nina looked at him as if he had just handed her a brilliant idea, and Jin said it again.
"Don't. You'll only get a scolding and come right back."
"I can't believe it. To think Jin might actually be right."
She grumbled and dropped her gaze. Jin grinned.
"Want me to sleep with you?"
"I'm good."
Nina waved him off.
"I'm going to wash up and sleep. I'm tired."
"Yeah, yeah. Hurry up and get to bed."
Nina gathered the captain's work still piled on the desk and headed for her room. She had spent the day standing in for Adrian and Louis, so her own tasks remained exactly as she had left them.
Back in her room, she looked at the glowing seed crystal. It was still shining brightly. It saved the cost of candles, and it gave off none of the oily stink of the cheap ones. Anyone who burned expensive beeswax would never understand that particular misery.
And the light is bright.
If they replaced every candle with these crystals, the attendants would have something to say. The side money they made selling leftover stubs and drippings was nothing to sneeze at. Not that we have anywhere near enough crystals for that. Even so, the crystal was beautiful in its own right. A golden wick shimmered at its heart, and the rainbow surface glittered; she felt she could stare at it all day and never grow tired.
Whoever sells them can invent the pitch.
With that thought, Nina moved the crystal onto the papers.
"Oh. And there's no lamp-shadow. That's convenient."
She worked through the documents by that clear light. Most knights were illiterate and stumbled over simple sums; measured against them, the Black Knights were a remarkable elite. All three of those who remained could handle a civil officer's work.
Truly unusual.
Nina finished drafting the budget and set down her pen. Tomorrow was the day she would meet the male lead.
Sleep early.
She could not put the light out, so she had to cover the glowing crystal. Once it was hidden, she slipped into bed.
"Nina. Hey. Get up. Nina La Del."
Shaken by the shoulder, she dragged her eyes half open.
"Whaaat...?"
"You were sprawled out so dead you didn't hear the knocking, didn't even notice me calling. Do I have to shake you awake? Where's all your discipline gone?"
Irritation flared at Jin's grumbling—and in the next breath, fear shot her upright.
"Did something happen to the Young Master?"
Jin shook his head at her wide, round eyes.
"No. The sage is here."
"What? What time is it even? Damn it, the sun isn't up!"
"Yeah. But he came."
Only then did she notice that Jin looked every bit as annoyed, his hair still a mess.
"The butler tried to wake you, couldn't, and came to me."
"Aigoo."
Nina scrubbed hard at her scalp and crawled, grumbling, out of bed. The fright had snapped her fully awake, at least. Once she was on her feet she twirled a finger, and Jin turned his back.
She changed into yesterday's clothes, left exactly as she had shed them, splashed a little water on her face by way of washing, combed her hair with her fingers, and yanked it tight into twin tails.
"How's this?"
"You look like someone who just got up."
"That's the truth, so it can't be helped. Let's go. Making him wait any longer will only leave a worse impression."
Nina went downstairs with nothing more than her jacket thrown on. When she stepped into the guest parlor, the man who had been sitting there rose.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
At her apology, he smiled and waved a hand.
"Not at all. Now that I think of it, everyone on Blue Stone Island is awake at this hour, but that isn't true of most nobles, is it?"
He said it with a light laugh.
"Thank you for understanding."
Nina held out her hand.
"Nina La Del. Captain of the Black Knights, presently acting in the duke's stead."
"So you're the one who sent the letter. There's a great deal I want to say."
He said it as he took her hand, and Nina, at a loss, prompted him.
"Which would make you the one who wrote to us...?"
Only then did he offer his name.
"My apologies."
"I am Randel, a sage of Blue Stone Island. Inadequately, I occupy the lowest seat among the Seven Great Sages."